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Troops Kill Terrorist, Detain Others During Operations

WASHINGTON, April 22, 2008  Coalition forces killed a terrorist, detained suspects, and discovered homemade explosives during a series of operations today and yesterday.

In a synchronized effort triggered by intelligence from an April 12 operation, coalition forces descended on targets in Salahuddin province to disrupt al-Qaida foreign terrorist leaders. The coordinated operations seized 21 individuals with alleged ties to the al-Qaida foreign terrorist network.

As an operation in Sharqat began, one man rushed coalition forces, who responded to the hostile threat, killing the attacker. Coalition forces also found weapons inside the building and uncovered homemade explosives, which were safely destroyed on site.

During an operation in Kirkuk, Iraqi and coalition forces detained one suspected terrorist believed to be associated with the al-Qaida network in the city.

In Iraq yesterday:

-- An aerial weapons team launched a Hellfire missile at two criminals with rocket-propelled-grenade launchers. The criminals were killed and the RPG launchers destroyed.

-- Soldiers from 4th Infantry Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team, conducting a route-clearing mission, were struck with a homemade bomb. Criminals in the area proceeded to attack with small-arms fire. Soldiers returned fire and killed three criminals.

-- Soldiers and an aerial weapons team from Multinational Division Baghdad killed seven criminals and seized weapons in separate incidents across Baghdad.

-- Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, were on patrol in New Baghdad when terrorists attacked them with small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. The soldiers returned fire and killed three criminals. About 40 minutes later in the same area, soldiers from the same unit were again attacked by criminals using small-arms fire. They returned fire. The criminals fled the area, and their vehicle was destroyed.

-- An aerial weapons team observed criminals in a vehicle resupplying other criminals in New Baghdad. The team engaged the vehicle, killing two armed criminals and destroying the vehicle.

-- During a patrol in New Baghdad, soldiers of 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, came under fire by criminals. An aerial weapons team was called to the scene and engaged with a Hellfire missile. The criminals were killed, and the shack they were using as concealment was destroyed.

-- An M1-A2 Abrams tank crew assigned to 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, engaged a criminal rocket team in New Baghdad. The crew destroyed a rocket, a rocket sled and the vehicle carrying the illegal weapons.

-- In Baghdad’s Sadr City section, two criminals attacked soldiers of the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment in an observation post with small-arms fire. The soldiers returned fire and killed both criminals.

In April 20 operation in Iraq:

-- Acting on a tip from a citizen, soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division’s Battery A, 3rd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, located two weapons caches and a possible car bomb near the Ci Ci Bar Canal. One cache found in a spider hole contained 120 mm mortar rounds, artillery fuses, and 23 mm projectiles. The car bomb and a cache consisting of three homemade bombs also were found nearby. The caches were destroyed on site.

-- Based on information provided by a member of a Sons of Iraq citizens security group, soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, seized a homemade bomb in the West Rashid district in southern Baghdad. The bomb was rigged to an Iraqi security forces vehicle. The vehicle was cordoned off and an explosives team called to destroy the device.

-- Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers seized two rocket-propelled grenades with a launcher during a combined patrol from Joint Security Station Risalah. The soldiers are conducting concentrated security operations with Iraqi security forces as part of ongoing operations to stop criminal activity in Baghdad.

-- Soldiers of the 4th Iraqi Army Division, advised by U.S. Special Forces soldiers, detained a suspected insurgent cell leader in an operation in Tamim province. The suspect is accused of conducting bombing and small-arms attacks against Iraqi and coalition forces. He also is believed to be a weapons trafficker in the Hawijah area. Another suspect was detained for questioning.